Page 114 of Healed

Rachel: Your Sin cut will be with you within the hour, Gabriella. Welcome to the inner circle. I approve of everything happening here right now.

Steph: Dante.

Dante: Don’t speak to me, Snow White.

Steph: I meant to ask... has your engine been rattling?

Dante: ...

Dante: What did you do to my bike, Steph?

Steph: 😇

Dante: WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BIKE???

Rachel: The forehead vein is out.

Dante: Fuck off, Rachel.

Rachel: How rude!! She put plastic animals in your engine, Dante. And I fucking helped her!!

Hacksaw: I’m not sticking around for a domestic.

Vienna: I fucking am!

Poor Hacksaw. He’d spent the entire conversation trying to restore some semblance of order. Unfortunately for him, he was dramatically outnumbered and I couldn’t resist what I did next.

Gabriella muted Hacksaw.

Gabriella: Vienna, grab the popcorn and meet me upstairs. Steph, you dim the lights. Jade, bring wine. Hacksaw... go watch the cameras or something. Everyone else, my room. Make yourselves comfortable. Stat. We have a domestic to watch.

If you can’t beat them, join them, I suppose.

Chapter 35

Gabriella

I was still chuckling over the text messages an hour or so later.

I’d jumped in a bath, heard Dante and Rachel yelling at each other from the hallway—which had ended with Axel throwing something at his dad and calling him a “prick”. Which was the clearest I had ever heard that boy speak, and judging by Dante’s reaction, he couldn’t have been more proud.

They were weird parents.

I’d also taken the time to not only brush my hair, but also straighten it and apply a bit of the makeup that was on the desk—after texting Rachel for permission. I loved that I could text now! It was such a simple thing, but it brought so much normality to my life, especially knowing these were not going to be monitored and dissected.

You have been added to the group chat The Core Four.

I looked down at my phone and burst out laughing again.

Vienna: I’m bored. What are we doing today?

Rachel: There is no ‘we’. There is a you, and then there is an us.

Vienna: I have no plans. So what are WE doing?

Rachel: Why are you asking us? Entertain yourself.

Vienna: Don’t be silly, Rachel. We’re the Core Four. Of course we’re going to spend the day together.